Placer County among 13 counties moving into the red tier on Sunday, state officials say
Placer County will be one of 13 counties to move into the red tier of coronavirus restrictions from the more-restrictive purple tier starting Sunday, according to California health officials.
That means restaurants and other businesses hard hit by nearly six months of restrictions because of the pandemic are being given the green light to go indoor — with limitations.
The announcement Friday came after the California Department of Public Health ease the threshold for its Blueprint for a Safety Economy. The other 12 counties are: Amador, Colusa, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Mendocino, Mono, Orange, Siskiyou, Sonoma and Tuolumne counties.
Under revised rules, which include a vaccine equity metric, counties can move from purple to red with a COVID-19 case rate of 10 per 100,000 people, rather than the prior standard of 7 per 100,000.
“We’re glad the state is taking vaccination into consideration and the movement into the red tier comes as welcome relief for many,” said Dr. Rob Oldham, Placer County’s director of health and human services and interim health officer in a statement. “With our case rate increasing gradually in the past week, it remains important to take precautions like masking and distancing, as none of us want to lose the progress we’ve made as a county.”
The change to the red tier, the first loosening of restrictions since November, means indoor dining and movie theaters are allowed at 25% capacity with a maximum of 100 people. Gyms can re-open indoors at 10% capacity, according to the guidelines. Museums, zoos and aquariums can also have indoor activities at 25% capacity.
Placer Board of Supervisors Chair Robert Weygandt told The Sacramento Bee that he welcomed the news.
“We’re very happy that that’s happening,” he said. “Personally, and I think the board agrees, the more flexibility we have the better it is for us.”
Sacramento, Sutter and Yuba counties are among 13 counties that are slated to move into the red tier on Wednesday, state health officials also said Friday.
“The changing of metrics amidst lowering numbers — by the hard work of our residents — is a meaningful shift following a tough winter,” Yuba-Sutter’s bi-county health department said in a statement. “We’re happy to see our communities eager to get vaccinated, and ready to continue practicing the tenets we all know to take another step toward reopening.”
By the middle of next week, all capital region counties are likely to be in the less-restrictive tier — El Dorado moved up earlier this month and Yolo was upgraded in late Februrary.
The moves came as state reached its goal of vaccinating 2 million people in underserved communities on Friday, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly. The state had set aside 40% of all vaccine doses for people living in vulnerable neighborhoods. While race and ethnicity aren’t explicit factors, the 400 neighborhoods identified by ZIP code overlap heavily with neighborhoods with higher populations of residents who are Black, Latino and Asian and Pacific Islander, officials said.
“California is doubling down on its mission to keep equity a top priority as we continue to get COVID-19 doses into the arms of all Californians as safely and quickly as possible,” Ghaly said in a news release. “Focusing on the individuals who have been hardest hit by this pandemic is the right thing to do and also ensures we are having the greatest impact in reducing transmission, protecting our health care delivery system and saving lives.”
The news came the day after President Joe Biden directed states to make the COVID-19 vaccine eligible to all adults beginning May 1, a couple of months ahead of projections shared earlier this year for when that might happen. California on Monday will expand eligibility to people ages 16 through 64 with medical conditions — a cohort the state estimates at 4.4 million people.
“We are laser-focused on being prepared for that day,” Ghaly said. “Our job in the state is to be ready for whatever the federal government and manufacturers can send us.”
Approaching three months into the rollout, California’s vaccine campaign has accelerated, but progress has been uneven at times. Frequent shifts in eligibility have caused confusion, and local providers in various parts of the state — including Sutter Health and the Sacramento County public health office — have recently cited supply shortages.
In all, the state injected about 11 million doses. CDPH on its online vaccine data tracker reported Thursday providers have administered 10,988,301 doses to date.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday that 7.6 million people in California are at least partially vaccinated and about 3.5 million are fully vaccinated. That means 25% of the state’s adult population has had at least one dose, roughly equal to the nationwide rate, while 11.6% are fully vaccinated, below the U.S. average of 13.3%.
Placer County has administered 131,667 doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine to residents, or about 32,881 doses per 100,000 people.
According to CDPH, providers have been delivered just over 15 million doses and another 360,000 have been shipped by manufacturers but hadn’t yet arrived as of Thursday morning.
Still, a message added to the state’s COVID-19 vaccination webpage earlier this month promises: “Every Californian 16 and up will have access to vaccines this spring.”
This story was originally published March 12, 2021 at 1:19 PM.